Bio EN/ESP

Classical guitarist José Luis Puerta has perform in Puerto Rico at the Mayagüez Guitar Festival, Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado in México, Canada, Spain, and throughout the United States. He’s been feature in the University of Arizona Alumni Magazine (Spring 2016), Acoustic Guitar (Fall 2017) and in Tucson Guitar Orchestra Strings Along, for Arizona Public Media. He has been invited to perform for the Treasure Coast Guitar Society and at the Sunday at the Garden Concert Series in numerous occasions as a duo, ensemble and conductor.

José Luis has been teaching guitar since early in his career. His experience encompasses elementary, middle and high schools students as well as college level. He has taught music appreciation, world music as well as individual lessons, ensemble coaching and masterclasses. Most recently he has been teaching as part of Lead Guitar, a non for profit organization that teaches guitar to at-risk students.

In addition to his teaching, José Luis is currently the conductor and director for the Tucson Guitar Society Orchestra. The TGSO has perform throughout the state in Green Valley, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, and at the Phoenix Regional Symposium for the Guitar Foundation of America. In collaborations with the Arizona Guitar Orchestra, and have tour the state of Arizona ensembles from ASU and GCC. Most recently with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. José Luis has been an active board member for the Tucson Guitar Society since 2010.

As an ethnomusicologist, Jose Luis emphasis has been in Latin American music, focusing on plucked strings ensembles such as the rondallas, trios and guitar quartets, and their use as a pedagogical tool. He has presented his research at the Ciclo Sonoro in Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana in Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil; the Fourth International Symposium on Latin American Music in Tucson, USA; Society for Ethnomusicology Southwest Chapter in Flagstaff, USA; Society for Ethnomusicology 61th Annual Meeting as a chair session in Washington D.C., USA. He has contributed two entries for the soon to be release The SAGE Encyclopedia of Ethnomusicology, “Reguetón,” and, “Lute Chordophones.” Also, he contributed guitar arrangements for the text book The Course of Mexican Music, Routledge.

José Luis graduated Cum Laude, and was awarded the Guitar Department medal for the most outstanding guitar student of the year at the Coservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, where he studied with Leonardo Egúrbida and Ivan Rijos. He holds Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Arizona in guitar performance with a minor in Ethnomusicology, where he was sponsor by the Arizona Scholars Program. During his graduate degrees he studied with Tom Patterson and artist in residence David Russell, Sergio and Odair Assad. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan Puerto Rico.